When I appeared before the Committee on 7 December
I was asked about the importance of the intercalated degrees for
medical students as a platform from which to recruit future clinical
academics[8].I
promise to write on this issue.

I understand that most medical schools offer
students the opportunity to take an extra year in the middle of
the course to study for an intercalated honours degree. Medical
schools' policies on intercalation vary: in some schools intercalation
is compulsory; some schools actively encourage intercalation;
some others limit the number of students who are allowed to intercalate.

At last October's symposium on careers in clinical
academic medicine it was suggested that there was a need to identify
and nurture potential future clinical academics at an early stage
including during the undergraduate course. The symposium noted
that intercalated degrees and the new accelerated courses for
graduate entrants had an important part to play in this process.
The Council of Heads of Medical Schools will be giving this matter
further consideration as part of the follow up on the symposium.